Good City - What Makes Milton Keynes

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Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre (MKCDC) have been awarded funding by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to embark on an exciting project animating The Plan for Milton Keynes, the original masterplan produced in 1970 that outlined the design and development of the new city.

MKCDC have digitised the two volumes of the masterplan and made them freely available via an all- new website. Visit The Plan for Milton Keynes for different levels of access for different interests, a summary of the first volume and new visual interpretations of the original goals.

Through a series of supper club sessions, workshops, activity days and exhibitions, MKCDC are animating the masterplan with local community groups. There are opportunities for discovery and inspiration, as well as consideration of the future of the city. Conversations are being sparked between communities, and hopes and desires expressed in innovative and artistic ways.

“We hope to bring the original masterplan to life for the community and engage people with the urban design of Milton Keynes,” says Catherine McIntyre, archivist. “It’s a document for everyone and we want to make sure people can access and understand it. Thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to present the plan in new and exciting ways.”

Milton Keynes was the last and the most ambitious of the post-war new towns. Its designated area was to provide houses and jobs for a population of 250,000 people by the year 1990. A development period of 25 years saw a dramatic change in the local landscape and thousands of new residents move to the area. In 2022 Milton Keynes achieved city status and it continues to welcome more new residents. Using The Plan for Milton Keynes this project aims to introduce local residents to the original design principles of the new city and foster an understanding and appreciation of the designed city in order to make informed decisions about the future. It will provide wider access to the masterplan, create conversations around the successes and failures of Milton Keynes, and inspire stakeholders to think about what they feel is important to retain.

If you’d like more details or to get involved then get in touch with us.